We now have an official Me.ga release date: It's Jan. 19, 2013. The Me.ga web site shouts that "on January 19, this button will change the world," which is on a big red button on the front of the web site. www.me.ga Kim Dotcom is looking for people who want in on the venture, his response to the Megaupload shutdown that happened this year.

The two biggest changes / improvements to the Me.Ga platform over what Megaupload offered is that 1) it's completely cloud-based and 2) there's no software install required. This will translate well into a quick and fast user experience for people to get at their files. It's also a clear change from what happened in the aftermath of the Megaupload shutdown, when servers were seized and a lot of innocent people storing files were shut out of access to their files. The aftermath revealed that a lot business and government employees were using Megaupload to hand off files to other people, or use it as an intermediary central storage accessible from home, work, or to other users.

The other big change here is that in response to the Megaupload trial, Kim Dotcom is launching Me.ga beyond U.S. borders (read: no .com or .net addresses) and will not involve any U.S.-based businesses. He's going international on the Me.Ga release and launch, maybe even being without a central country for business operations at all, but rather a mix of different locations across the globe.

“It is not safe for cloud storage sites or any business allowing user generated content to be hosted on servers in the United States or on domains like .com / .net. The US government is frequently seizing domains without offering service providers a hearing or due process,” said Kim Dotcom.